IRAN WAR UPDATES: Iran attacks third ship as Trump extends ceasefire
· Toronto Sun
Resuming talks between the United States and Iran are up in the air on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. was extending its ceasefire in the war at the request of Pakistan while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran.
Iran has yet to respond to the ceasefire extension, and both countries sent warnings of resuming the fight if a deal isn’t reached.
Visit moryak.biz for more information.
In a Tuesday night Truth Social post, Trump said, “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open,” so they can sell their crude oil. This comes after stating the U.S. military would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports.
Meanwhile, Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday, despite expected talks in Washington this week after a 10-day ceasefire went into effect last Friday.
Here is the latest in the Iran war on Wednesday:
Revolutionary Guard attacks a third ship in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.
Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast.
The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.
Israel urges Lebanon to cooperate to dismantle Hezbollah
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah ahead of negotiations in Washington on Thursday.
The meeting follows a similar gathering last week in Washington, which was the first time in decades that the two countries spoke directly.
“We don’t have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes that can be solved,” Saar said during Independence Day remarks to Israel’s diplomatic corps.
“The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” he said, adding that Lebanon could have “a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”
Israel’s military has currently established a buffer zone stretching around 10 kilometres into southern Lebanon to remove the threat of short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles toward northern Israel.
Iranian diplomat says country ‘won’t negotiate under threat’
The United States must end its blockade on Iran as a prerequisite for any further ceasefire talks in Islamabad, an Iranian diplomat said Wednesday.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, said communications with Pakistani mediators are underway “to implement Iran’s conditions.”
“We won’t negotiate under threat,” he said. “We won’t go to Islamabad before the lifting of the blockade.”
Pour accused the U.S. of using the ceasefire to build up more forces for a possible resumption of military action against the Islamic Republic.
“Behind the scenes, they say something, but in public, they say and do something else,” he said.
Pakistan focused on keeping U.S.-Iran talks alive
Pakistan’s top political and military leadership has worked to prevent talks from collapsing and to persuade the U.S. to extend the ceasefire over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.
Two Pakistani officials said authorities will keep security arrangements in place in Islamabad in case U.S. and Iranian delegations ultimately arrive.
Pakistan is also still waiting to hear from Tehran on when it will send a delegation for a second round, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Second ship comes under attack in Strait of Hormuz
A second ship came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a container ship.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center did not immediately identify who shot at the second ship.
Suspicion immediately fell on Iran, however, whose paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier opened fire on the container ship.
In the second attack, the cargo ship said it had been fired upon and was stopped in the water.
It said there was no reported damage to the vessel.
The attacks come days after the U.S. seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend, and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran’s oil trade Tuesday in the Indian Ocean.
Iran hangs another man over alleged ties to Mossad
Iran hanged another man on Wednesday over his alleged ties to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
This, as Tehran continues a series of executions during the war, comes after nationwide protests in January.
The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary announced the execution of Mehdi Farid. It described Farid as working for a “sensitive state organization” and passing information to the Israeli spy agency.
It said Farid was convicted in Iran’s Qom province.
Human rights activists have long said Iran convicts people in closed-door trials without allowing defendants to properly defend themselves.
There have been multiple executions of alleged spies recently, as well as protesters and those affiliated with an Iranian exiled opposition group.
– With files from The Associated Press